
Systemic, Pancoronary and Local Coronary Vulnerability
Coronary StenosisAcute Coronary Syndrome5 more• The aim of the VIP study is to investigate the impact of vulnerability markers (inflammatory serum biomarkers for systemic vulnerability, coronary shear stress and vulnerability mapping for pancoronary vulnerability, and imaging-based plaque features for systemic vulnerability) on the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events caused by progression of the non-culprit lesion in patients with acute ST or non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction who undergo revascularization of the culprit lesion during the acute event. Furthermore, the study will evaluate the rate of progression of non-culprit lesions towards a higher degree of vulnerability, based on coronary computed tomography angiographic assessment at 1 year after enrollment.

Fibrin Clot Properties and Blood Loss Following Coronary Artery By-pass Grafting
Coronary Artery DiseaseInternal Mammary-Coronary Artery Anastomosis4 moreUp to 15% of operations in cardio-pulmonary by-pass are complicated by excessive postoperative blood loss, which negatively affects the outcomes. Recently, it has been demonstrated that fibrin clot susceptibility to lysis is a modulator of postoperative blood loss after cardiac surgery for aortic stenosis. Earlier, a preliminary study showed a negative association of postoperative blood loss after coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) with fibrin clot lysis time, reflecting susceptibility to fibrinolysis. In CABG, postoperative blood loss may depend on the operative technique with respect to left internal mammary artery (LIMA) harvesting. LIMA is taken down in virtually all CABG procedures, but harvesting technical details remain at surgeons discretion (skeletonization without opening the pleural cavity vs. pedicled graft with pleura wide open). The investigators decided to test the hypothesis that fibrin clot properties modulate the postoperative drainage following CABG strongly enough to attenuate the influence of surgical technique by randomizing the patients undergoing CABG with regard to LIMA harvesting technique.

Minimal Invasive Imaging of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Asymptomatic Myocardial Injury...
Myocardium; InjuryCoronary Artery DiseaseThis is a cross-sectional pilot study to assess coronary artery disease with minimal invasive techniques in patients with asymptomatic troponin elevation after noncardiac surgery. The primary objective is to quantify coronary artery disease, as determined by coronary CT and MR, as a cause of postoperative myocardial injury. The secondary objective is to correlate coronary calciumscore to postoperative levels of troponin.

Pharmacogenetic and Pharmacokinetic Study of Clopidogrel
Coronary Artery DiseaseThis registration study aims to investigate the associations of the pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic factors with clopidogrel low response and clinical outcome in patients with coronary artery disease, and provide new pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic targets for the individualized anti-platelet treatment.

Direct Comparison of 2D Cardiac PET With 3D Cardiac PET
Coronary Artery DiseaseLowering the per-infusion dose of Rb-82 offers advantages of lessening radiation exposure and extending useable generator life. Prior studies have not shown equivalence of 3D vs 2D Rb-82 PET. The investigators therefore compare 3D PET after a lower Rb-82 dose (~20 mCi) processed using a Monte-Carlo driven scatter correction algorithm against conventional higher dosage (~50 mCi) 2D Rb-82 PET MPI.

Chest Pain Perception and Capsaicin Sensitivity in Patients With Acute Cardiac Ischemia
Chest PainThe purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a positive correlation between the ability to sense chest pain in the context of myocardial ischemia and the ability to sense discomfort associated with the topical application of the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin (the active ingredient on hot chili peppers).

BIOFLOW-III Canada Satellite Registry
Coronary Artery DiseaseMyocardial IschemiaFor the majority of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), treatment with Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) provides high initial procedural success. However, the medium to long-term complications range from rather immediate elastic recoil or vessel contraction to longer processes like smooth muscle cell proliferation and excessive production of extra cellular matrix, thrombus formation and atherosclerotic changes like restenosis or angiographic re-narrowing. The reported incidence of restenosis after PTCA ranges from 30%-50%. Such rates of recurrence have serious economic consequences. Bare Metal Stents (BMS), designed to address the limitations of PTCA, reduced the angiographic and clinical restenosis rates in de novo lesions compared to PTCA alone and decreased the need for CABG. BMS substantially reduced the incidence of abrupt artery closure, but restenosis still occurred in about 20%-40% of cases, necessitating repeat procedures. The invention of Drug Eluting Stents (DES) significantly improved on the principle of BMS by adding an antiproliferative drug (directly immobilized on the stent surface or released from a polymer matrix), which inhibits neointimal hyperplasia. The introduction of DES greatly reduced the incidence of restenosis and resulted in a better safety profile as compared to BMS with systemic drug administration. These advantages and a lower cost compared to surgical interventions has made DES an attractive option to treat coronary artery disease. This observational registry is designed to investigate and collect clinical evidence for the clinical performance and safety of the Orsiro Drug Eluting Stent System in an all-comers patient population in daily clinical practice.

Assessment of Coronary Plaque Composition Using Optical Coherence Tomography
Coronary AtherosclerosisEndothelial Dysfunction1 moreThe investigator's hypothesis is that local activation of the endogenous Lp-PLA2 plays an integral role in early atherosclerosis, and contributes to the mechanism of coronary endothelial dysfunction and to the structural and mechanical properties that characterize plaque vulnerability. Thus, the investigators study will characterize prospectively the correlation between the functional and structural vascular wall properties, and the activity of the Lp-PLA2 pathway.

PharmacOdynamic compaRison of piTavastatin Versus atOrvastatin on Platelet Reactivity
Coronary Artery DiseaseLevels of platelet reactivity in patients on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) can be influenced by concomitant treatment with medications (i.e. statins) that inhibit the CYP3A4 system involved in the activation of clopidogrel. Atorvastatin and simvastatin are metabolized by CYP3A4. Pitavastatin, unlike other statins, is little metabolized, most of the dose being excreted unchanged in bile, and biotransformation through the cytochrome P450 system is minimal. Indeed, pitavastatin's cyclopropyl group diverts the drug away from metabolism by CYP3A4 and allows only a small amount of clinically insignificant metabolism by CYP2C9. The primary objective of this study is to compare the pharmacodynamic effects of a CYP3A4-metabolized statin (atorvastatin) versus a non-CYP3A4-metabolized statin (pitavastatin) in patients showing high platelet reactivity while on DAPT.

Effect of Dairy Fat on Plasma Phytanic Acid in Human
Coronary Heart DiseaseThe aim of the study is to investigate if cow feeding regimes affects concentration of plasma phytanic acid and risk markers of the metabolic syndrome in human.